Packer's Perspective: Heading Into the New Year

The time is here! We have returned back to campus and hit the ice once again, continuing on our journey to the finish line. Break was not nearly long enough, and flew by, but everyone is in agreement that it was nice to get away and spend time with loved ones over the holidays. Most of the team left campus back sometime between the 17th and the 20th of December and then we all returned by the 27th of December in order to take part in practice later that day. The break was good, and a little time away from the rink is always healthy.

The team has returned to campus and been grinding each day, from lift, to cardio, to on ice sessions themselves, everyone is pushing hard and focused on continuing to pursue our team goal. While hockey is what brings the fans and the followers, the players are ordinary individuals just like the rest. We hang out with family members, spend time with friends, and yes, some of us still write letters to Santa (Sydney McKibbon). Upon returning to campus, I asked my teammates to list their favorite gift or moment of this Christmas season (Hanukah for senior goaltender Ilana Friedman), and here is what we came up with. Also; I have included some of the nicknames we go by, to better know the ladies! Enjoy!

#1 Jorie Walters- A ninja blender#2 Melissa Channel (Chan)- A Garth Brooks CD set and some lulu lemon clothes#3 Jenny Ryan- Fondue with my family for Christmas dinner...yummm!#5 Stef McKeough- Ketchup chips, and also making the kiss cam at the Sens hockey game with my brother.#6 Courtney Burke (@courty6)- A North Face jacket#7 Kelly Jaminski (Jammer)- A new pair of comfy slippers#8 Katy Harding (Stone)- Taking a trip to Hawaii with my family#9 Molly Doner- Finally having all five of my siblings and I home together#10 Brittany Ammerman (Brit)- Surprising my mom with the Linus bike she has always wanted#11 Sydney McKibbon (Syd)- Skating outdoors at Lake Louise #12 Katy Josephs (Kath)- Skating on the outdoor rink with my brothers#13 Katarina Zgraja (Z)- A delicious home cooked turkey dinner#14 Madison Packer (Pack)- Bowling with my family in Aspen and skating with a group of four and five year olds at the local rink#16 Sarah Nurse- Being with all my family#17 Blayre Turnbull- A new pair of fuzzy socks#20 Mikayla Johnson (MJ)- A basket to hold all my blankets#23 Kim Drake- Decorating the Christmas tree#24 Karley Sylvester (Carlos)- A new Sonic Care toothbrush and taking a trip to New York to visit my boyfriend...he's in the NHL, Brock Nelson, look him up.#25 Erika Sowchuk (Sowwww)- A new pair of beats#27 Rachel Jones (Jonesie)- A shiny new front tooth#28 Natalie Berg (Bergie)- My Barbie jeep, it does great on the snowy Wisco roads#30 Ann-Renee Desbiens- Having all my siblings and nephews home#31 Ilana Friedman (Ils)- Spending time with my boyfriend on the football team#33 Alex Rigsby (Rigs)- Magic bullet blender...I like my smoothies (she really does!!)

There you have it! All the favorite gifts and moments from the Badgers holiday season, but now it's back to work. We have six practices under our belt and we are gearing up to head to St. Cloud to start the second leg of the season. The second half of the year is a fresh start and a new chapter for us, as we look to make strides to continue getting better and focusing on reaching our ultimate goal. Tune in later this week for a full recap on practices and the trip to St. Cloud, and thoughts from players on what they look forward to moving into the first game of 2014. From the entire Badger team we wish you a safe and happy New Year and look forward to playing in front of our home crowd in 2014!